Concert Companion
Concert Companion
Podcast Description
Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion connects classical music fans with seven Orchestra musicians who share personal previews of the programs in this season’s Masterworks series. By giving listeners a little something extra to take along to the performance, the Concert Companion aims to deepen patrons’ appreciation of the works they’ll enjoy live in the concert hall. You're invited to join each enriching adventure with an Orchestra musician as your friendly guide. Episodes are released one month prior to each Masterworks program.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores a variety of themes including musician anecdotes, performance preparation, and concert previews, with episodes focusing on specific concerts like Heroic Spirit featuring Beethoven and Shostakovich, Ravel's Bolero with active listening tips, and discussions of human perseverance in Beethoven's Seventh linked to historical narratives.
Sarasota Orchestra’s Concert Companion connects classical music fans with Orchestra musicians who share personal previews of concert programs coming up this season. By giving listeners a little something extra to take along to the performance, the Concert Companion aims to deepen patrons’ appreciation of the works they’ll enjoy live in the concert hall. You’re invited to join each enriching adventure with an Orchestra musician as your friendly guide.
Episode Overview:
Last summer, the Chicago Classical Review dubbed Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero a “gifted and idiomatic Mahlerian, insightful yet individual and willing to take risks.” That term “Mahlerian” was a new word for host Sara Stovall, and their conversation in this episode reveals more about why it fits Giancarlo to a tee. As Sarasota Orchestra prepares for the grand finale of the 2025-2026 Masterworks season, Giancarlo reveals why he feels it necessary to conduct Gustav Mahler’s music every concert season, exploring the chaotic, grief-stricken, and creatively brilliant life of a composer who truly composed autobiographically.
But this isn’t just a Mahler episode. Giancarlo has paired Mahler with the American genius who saved his legacy: Leonard Bernstein. Giancarlo and Sara discuss in depth why their two voices naturally belong together on the same stage, and imagine what would happen if Bernstein and Mahler grabbed cocktails together (perhaps there would be a lot of complaining about their conducting “day jobs”)!
About the Concert:
Sarasota Orchestra performs Masterworks: Bernstein and Mahler on April 17-19 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Violin superstar Chee-Yun performs Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium), then the Orchestra sends off the Masterworks season with Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Tickets are available at SarasotaOrchestra.org
Music in This Episode:
Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler
Anu Tali, conductor
Sarasota Orchestra
Recorded live at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, November 12, 2017
Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium) by Leonard Bernstein
Midori, violin
Michael Balke, conductor
Sarasota Orchestra
Recorded live at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, February 25, 2018
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